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Mid-century modern coloring books for adults — new from Jenn Ski

This Sept. 2014 story was
sponsored by Rockport Publishers

Artist and illustrator Jenn Ski is a longtime friend of the blog, and now this creative dynamo has a new project in the market: three mid-century modern coloring books — “a series of grown-up coloring books for art and design lovers.” Published by Rockport Publishers, the “Just Add Color” coloring books include Mid-Century Modern Mania, Mid-Century Modern Animals and Mid-Century Modern Patterns.

Jenn Ski and her publishing company are looking to get the word out about these fun new books, so they made a little advertising and sponsored post deal with us — then sent us review copies to check out. This is only the second sponsored post we’ve ever done — and we’re quite happy that it worked out, because we have quite a soft spot for Jenn Ski — the first person ever to link to Retro Renovation. So what are these coloring books like? As soon as my set arrived via UPS, I got out my colored pencils to take a test drive.
.“Who doesn’t love to color?” it says on the back of each book. Angela Corpus, marketing manager for Rockport Publishers, hopes that the answer to that question is, “No one.” Angela tells us that there is an emerging market in designer coloring books — like these — that are specifically targeted at adults. But why would adults want coloring books? The answer is simple — to recapture a bit of their youth and spend some time in calming, self-guided “art therapy.” In fact, Angela told Pam that the growing trend in adult coloring books comes out of the art therapy world.

Whether you are the type that likes to stay in the lines or not, the act of coloring itself can be cathartic and relaxing — and it is even better when the subject matter piques your interest. Like: Mid-century modern!

After paging through all three of the books, I immediately had a favorite. Don’t get me wrong, all three of the coloring books were filled with fabulous designs, but the one that ultimately made me want to break out the colored pencils and start coloring was Mid-Century Modern Mania.

For someone who absolutely loves mid-century home decor, Mid-Century Modern Mania was like giving me free reign to ‘decorate’ my own little world. There are three types of illustrations in this 30-page coloring book: Overall room scenes, vignettes of rooms, and close-ups of decor items — like light fixtures, kitchen utensils and houseplants — that are like patterns in themselves.

The only thing I didn’t like was having to choose just one page to start with.

I ultimately chose an overall room scene to test. I decided to use my colored pencil set — leftover from art school — to get started. I recommend choosing a coloring medium with both fine and wide tip coloring abilities. Some of the designs are quite involved, making a fine tip or a sharp point necessary if you want to stay in the lines. Wider tips make coloring ‘wallpaper’ and ‘carpeting’ easier and faster. I needed to keep a pencil sharpener nearby to maintain a sharp point when coloring some of the smaller details.

I took my time selecting colors and carefully filling in each shape during my first art therapy session and the whole, leisurely process took me about an hour and 40 minutes to complete. Some of the less involved pages could likely be completed in half an hour. I’d like to try coloring my next page with markers for an even bolder, more saturated and colorful look.

At one point during my art therapy session, my husband Jim — who usually is uninterested in this sort of thing — wanted to join in the fun after he saw a page with a simple design of a fondue pot. Guess what we’re doing tomorrow night? Couples coloring! Alas, right now Pam has a broken right arm and since she’s right handed, she won’t be able to test her kindergarten coloring skills for another eight weeks or so.

The paper used in these books is nice and thick — and will stand up to the juiciest markers. Also of note — the coloring books are smartly sized so that favorite finished pieces can be popped into a standard 8×10 frame and proudly displayed as art. Each page is also perforated for easy removal — in case you want to display your finished drawings on the fridge or the frame them. Personally, I found it easier to remove the page prior to coloring.

If you are worried about your fine motor skills and staying in the lines, each of the three books gives plenty of room to practice, with variations between large, easy to color shapes…

And more intensive patterns that will challenge even the accomplished colorer. Many of the patterns you can color in the Mid-Century Modern Patterns book are near replicas of Jenn Ski’s art prints.

The Mid-Century Modern Animals book is filled with whimsical, retro favorites like the owl above…

And this page filled with groovy butterflies and mushrooms that is just screaming for a lime green, yellow and bittersweet orange coloring scheme.

While I was coloring, I kept thinking about what a great party activity this would be for a small group. Everyone could pick a page from the book, sip a cocktail, munch on snacks, catch up with each other and color to their heart’s content — then take home their drawing to proudly place on the fridge as a reminder of a fun evening spent with friends. Any one of these books — along with a set of fine point markers or colored pencils — would also be a fantastic holiday gift.

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Comments

What fun! But the first thought I had when I saw that Jenn Ski had made mid-century mod coloring books was not therapy, it was, “Hmm, a good way to experiment with color palettes for my next decorating project.”

I am all colors with envy for your colored pencil set. But Jim is obviously very different from my husband. If he saw me coloring a fondue pot, he would not suddenly desire a family coloring session. Instead, he would remember our red Catherineholm fondue pot in the closet and say, “I’ll get out the pot, you get out the cheese.”

I’ve been buying adult coloring books from Dover Publications for years- especially titles like “Color Your Own Van Gogh” and Color Your Own American Masterpieces”- but these are something new and original and I definitely need to get these!

Ohhh, what fun! My mother — who loved MCM and coloring, even as an adult — would have snapped these up in a heartbeat. A set for her, and a set for me. I guess I’ll have to get a set for me and a set for my teen daughters to share.

I’m ordering at least the animals one for my grandchildren. Kids are never too young to give them images of good design.

Kate, your picture gets an A+ 🙂

…..and I second the suggestion of Pam trying to color with her left hand to exercise her right brain. Someone once told me we should all switch our watches once a month to the opposite wrist – that it helps to stimulate our brains!!

I would be spending the whole day staring at my left wrist exercising my brain around trying to remember where I left my watch. By 5 PM, I’d be saying to myself, “Oh, never mind! I wore it on my right wrist today.”

I LOVE to color! Most coloring books don’t inspire much, though, do they? These are FABulous! I would feel like a real artist 🙂

I’ve got an old set of Prismacolors (left over from art school like you, Kate) that need a workout and an October birthday coming up, so I know what I’m asking for! And I think my two young daughters would love them as well. I adore the idea of family coloring time and having friends over to color and chat and then leave with a finished piece of art. Genius!

If the paper can handle art markers it would probably be able to handle gauche or tube watercolor paints. Doing a set of these with either art markers or paints in colors that match the colors in a room could be really interesting.

I am eager to try my Golden Artist Colors! And no, I am not going to practice with my left hand. I’m typing now, though! I need to do an update and show off my new cast, with its Retro Renovation 2013 Color of the Year Drexel Premier Chapter One Rich Lime Green wrap.

I find coloring very relaxing. I have several coloring posters, and always have one tacked on the wall next to my desk with a vase of pencils nearby. Every so often when I’m sick of looking at the screen, I’ll slap some bright colors on the paper to refresh myself. Right now I’m doing a 1974 DoodleArt of a psychedelic rock concert. Can’t wait to get my hands on these books! Thanks!!

As it was mentioned in the other comments, this seems like a great way to test out those new color ideas for the next home renovation! And looks fun too, it’s awesome you got your husband to do it. Couples coloring!

I am a stage 4 head and neck cancer survivor…4 years out and some of my survivor pals and I have talked that coloring books would be great for those going thru treatment and afterwards…your mind has a hard time with written words or following movie plots but coloring?! What a great thing…I have bought some others and hoping to win one of these. Love it!!